Slightly out of my mind
by Pchefbeth
Summary: Chapter 9 up- What happened after Danny showed up in Montana? My take on missing time. All those wonderful little DL moments from episode 3.18, 'Sleight out of hand' and then hours of missing moments of my own rolled into one. Spoilers for Season 3.
1. Chapter 1

_This episode is one of my very favorites and it's been alot of fun to write so much of what was unsaid. I have added hours of missing moments from the trial and in between. I hope that you enjoy. A special thanks to everyone who has been reviewing my work. Thank you for all the advice and suggestions. I appreciate them very much. A special thank you to Sugah66 and other fans who post these special moments on Youtube. It makes it much easier to watch and rewatch when you are trying to quote the dialogue just right. Just to review I own none of the characters or the CSI NY show, I just wish that I worked with these people. _

**Slight of Hand- Episode 3.18**

Lindsay stood in the hallway of the Bozeman County Courthouse and tried to calm her already frazzled nerves. She had been at the trial for more than 3 weeks now, and had watched as the evidence of that horrible night was gone over, and over again. She had tried to focus on the evidence against the suspect, but it could easily be seen as circumstantial at best. The suspect, Daniel Cadence had been in the restaurant earlier that day, had eaten there alone as he was just passing through and didn't know anyone in town. He'd stayed at a local motel outside of town and had even claimed to have flirted with the cashier Sarah. His attorney claimed that every print the forensics team had found that night were left earlier in the day, and that he hadn't stepped foot in there again, and certainly not with the intention of robbing the store, but Lindsay knew better. The prosecutor had told her that her testimony was the only thing that could solidly place him in that room that night. The entire case hung on the balance of her words.

She hung her head and in a moment of weakness wished that she had asked her folks to come to the courthouse. But she didn't want them to have to relive it any more. Reporters were already swarming the house, and she didn't think she could sit there and go through her testimony if she saw her mother crying. She had to be strong. Her friends were counting on her.

Lindsay closed hereyes for a moment and conjured up a familiar face in her mind. Usually it made her smile a little to think of him, but ever since she left New York all she did was wonder how he was doing. She pulled out her phone and looked at it for a moment. He hadn't called her since she left New York. To be fair she hadn't either, but she didn't want to say what needed to be said to him over the phone. He deserved to hear things face to face. _When this is all over..._ she promised herself. Phone still in hand she dialed another number. The number of a friend.

"Bonasera."

"Stella, Hi."

"Lindsay," Stella said sitting forward in her chair as she recognized the voice. "How is the trial going?"

"Good, at least the prosecutor says it is."

"When do you have to testify?"

"This afternoon. You know it's weird, I've testified in this courthouse over a hundred times," she said softly, "but always as a forensic expert never as a witness to a crime."

"I know it's tough, but there are a few things you should remember about going on the stand. Look those jurors in the eye make them hear you..."

Stella's voice faded into the background as the noise from the crowd around her increased. Lindsay turned and watched as the bailiffs brought _him _into the courtroom. She didn't remember anything else Stella said, she just watched as reporters swarmed around him. As though he could sense exactly where she was in the crowd his eyes found her and he smiled directly at her. Her hands suddenly felt cold and she struggled to breathe. She gradually became aware of noise around her again and of Stella's voice coming from the phone she still had pressed to her ear.

"Lindsay?" Stella asked again, concerned at the lack of response.

"Thanks Stel, I'll remember." Lindsay answered woodenly. "Say Hi to ...everyone for me."

"I will." Stella assured her. "Hang in there kiddo."

Stella looked at the phone for another moment before hanging it back up. She frowned, worried for her friend, wishing there was something she could do.

There was a knock at her door interrupting her thought. She looked up and saw Danny standing in the doorway with a folder in hand.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked her.

Stella shook her head 'no', then gestured to the phone. "I was just speaking to Lindsay." she explained.

Danny's attention was instantly riveted, but he crossed his arms across his chest and tried to look casual. "Really?" he asked.

Stella frowned as she reflected back on the conversation. "She just didn't sound the same." she admitted to him.

Danny nodded, his thoughts going a mile a minute of questions he was dying to ask but couldn't. _Was she ok? What happened? Had someone said something to upset her? What was wrong?_

"She said to say hello." Stella offered.

Danny brightened a little and tried to push the hundreds of questions out of his mind and failed. _Should I call her? Does she miss me? What was going on? Would she be home soon? Was she ok?_

Stella waited for Danny to say why he came into her office, but his mind seemed elsewhere. "Danny?" she prompted. _Poor guy_, she thought. He'd been there working around the clock again.

"Oh yeah." he said as he remembered his purpose for seeing Stella. His rattled off information about the case, but his focus was elsewhere, wondering about Montana.


	2. Chapter 2

Lindsay sat on the hard bench of the courtroom, her hands shaking so bad that she had to clasp them together. She had purposely seated herself away from everyone else in the room in the last row in the back. She was surrounded by people and memories from her past. Two of the faces that she had dreaded seeing most were there. She could feel them looking at her throughout the trial, never maliciously, but with wonder. As though they were searching her face to figure out what their own daughters faces would look like now. She tried to shut them out of her mind. She didn't want to look at anyone today until she absolutely had to.

She took a deep breath and fought the urge to be sick when the prosecutor looked over the crowd and found her face. District Attorney John Goode. He was ironically a good friend. They had gone to school together since they were little, even dated casually from time to time, and had worked together before. He had called her to testify as a forensic expert many a time.

"Your honor, the prosecution calls Ms. Lindsay Monroe to the stand."John said to the judge.

Lindsay willed her legs to stand, and tried to remember what instructions he had given her in the hours they had gone over her testimony. _Stand tall, watch your body language, don't cross your arms it just lets the jury think you are hiding something. Speak slowly, look the jury in the eye, and if you start to get too emotional just look at me. I'll try to keep you going._

She held her hands at her sides and clenched her hands into tight fists, her nails biting into her palms as she walked towards the witness stand. The bailiff stood by with the book in his hand, and she stood woodenly looking at it for a moment before placing her left hand on it and raising her right.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god."

"I do." Lindsay said softly and sat down.

John caught her eyes and held them for a moment before beginning. _Speak calmly and clearly, stay focused and speak slowly. Never speak in anger or the jury will think you are only about __revenge,__ you want to paint a picture of what your friends were like, open your memories to them and paint them as real people._

He stood near the jury box and began. "Ms. Monroe, can you please tell the jury about what you remember about the night of June 18th, 1985.

Lindsay took a deep breath and started telling her story. "It was getting late and the place was closing up. Everyone had pretty much cleared out except for us. Wejust stayed there talking forever -about boys, school, going away for the summer. We talked about how much we were going to miss each other over those months and how we would stay friends forever. I remember Kelly saying she hadn't even packed yet. She usually stayed home for the summer but this was going to be her first summer away." her composure slipped a little as she saw Kelly's mom in the crowd.

"Then what happened next Lindsay." John prompted.

"I got up," she said her voice cracking slightly. "I got up and went to the restroom to wash my hands. I could still hear them laughing outside the door. I was in there for maybe 15 or 20 seconds when I heard the front doors chime. That's when I heard the first gunshot." The memory was so vivid for her that she actually recoiled from the memory of the sound. "I froze I didn't know what to do. I just froze. I could hear them screaming in the other room. Then I heard another shot, and another shot, and then another. I just curled up in the corner with my hands over my ears." and she demonstrated. "I just didn't move." As she finished her statement she saw one of her friend's mother lean into her husband and close her eyes as she cried.

"Take your time. I know this is hard for you." John said as he walked closer and stood by the box.

Lindsay felt her throat close up and the tears start to come to her eyes. She tried to clear her throat but couldn't. Her hands were shaking as she caught his eyes and silently begged him. "I'm sorry.." she said quietly, then louder, "I just need to..can we stop?"

John looked up from her face and towards the judge. "Your honor, this might be a good time to take a break. Perhaps we could continue Ms. Monroe's testimony tomorrow?"

Lindsay vaguely heard the judge agree as she fought back the tears. She heard rather than saw the jury as they were escorted out and still made no move to get out of her chair.

John walked back over and put his hands down on the witness stand bench. "Lindsay." he asked softly. "You can get down now."

She nodded her head absently and stood up slowly. The courtroom was almost completely empty. Lindsay watched as the bailiffs escorted the defendant from the room. She stood and stared as he smiled at her, cocky in her inability to testify. She looked away abruptly unable to continue meeting his gaze.

John watched her reaction and kept quiet until Daniel Cadence had been removed from the courtroom. As the door opened he saw the flashbulbs go off, and knew the media were going to be screaming for a comment when they walked out.

He gripped Lindsay's arm lightly and steered her towards the prosecution table. "Lindsay." he said softly, then louder when she didn't look up right away. She lifted her face up to meet his gaze, her eyes full of unshed tears. "What happened up there? You did so well when we rehearsed yesterday."

Lindsay leaned against the table and shook her head.

"Lindsay," he said as he sat down on the table next to her. "You need to find a way to focus and get through this. If the jury doesn't hear the story from you this guys going to walk!"

At his words, tears spilled down Lindsay's cheeks and she bent her head.

John took a deep breath and put his hand on her back consolingly. "Look the press are going to be all over this," he said to her. "I'm going to go out and head them off. Go home and try to get some sleep."

Lindsay wiped the tears from her face and nodded.

John exited the courtroom first and Lindsay could see the flashbulbs go off as the press swarmed him. He walked a few feet away from the door and stopped, hoping to keep the attention on himself while Lindsay made her escape.

It didn't work. As she opened the door a flash went off in her face and the reporters turned away from the lawyer and swarmed around her, pressing in and yelling questions at her.

"Ms. Monroe, Ms. Monroe, Why couldn't you testify today?! What happened that night?! Is Daniel Cadence guilty?! Will you be able to testify tomorrow?!"

Lindsay threw a hand up to protect her eyes from the flashes and closed her eyes. She felt John's hand on her back as he shielded her from the rest of the reporters and lead her out of the courthouse.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt another wave of exhaustion hit him. He'd been up for more than 50 hours now and from the looks of things, it would be a few more before he could go home yet. He lifted the gas can and once more examined the surface, his attention coming to rest on the substance on the edges. Whoever handled the can had left it behind while they were pouring gas on their vic. He swabbed the goo and ran it through the mass spectrometer and leaned against the counter watching blearily as the fingerprints he'd scanned earlier ran through CODUS.

He was rolling the muscles in his shoulders when he caught sight of her. She was walking down the hallway towards Mac's office and he was so stunned to see her that he just stared. _Lindsay_. As she rounded the corner in front of his window she looked over at him and smiled. He smiled back broadly at her, and was getting ready to push away from the counter to go and talk to her when he blinked and in her place was another face smiling at him. He blinked again and frowned, Lindsay's face didn't reappear and the female tech walked out of sight.

Danny kept frowning as he tried to figure out what had happened. He gave a shallow laugh as he realized he had imagined her. "I'm losing my mind." he said to himself, and turned his attention back to the mass spec as it beeped. At least now he'd have something to report. He printed out the information sheet and went to find Mac. He found him in reconstruction.

"The stuff we found on that gas can was-"

"Stunt Gel." Mac said holding up the container and showing Danny.

Danny muttered tiredly. "Why do I gotta look up the answers when you already know them?"

"We've got to have the science back us up, you know that." Mac said as he continued to spread the substance on the sweater he was wearing and watched out of the corner of his eye as Danny yawned. "After this you go home, and take the day."

Danny held his hands up, "Alright, but only because I'm too tired to argue right now." He then gestured towards the gunk and the tank of water behind Mac. "What are you doing? Are you going to light your arm on fire in the name of science?"

"Want to do the honors?" and held out a lighter to Danny. When he hesitated, he teased him. "How many other jobs allow you to set your boss on fire? Going once, Going Twice..."

Danny picked up the lighter. "Alright, alright, but if you go up in flames I get your office."

Mac grinned in agreement and held out his arm for Danny to ignite. They bantered as Mac examined the flames, protected from the heat by the flame retardant Stunt Gel. He extinguished the flames and confirmed his suspicions to Danny. Luke Blade was guilty.

Mac returned to his office to start the search for Blade and Danny returned to his to log out for the night. He completed his time card, effectively punching out for the evening and sat back in his chair, rubbing his face for a moment before checking his watch. It was 3 in the morning. It was too late to call Lindsay to see how her testimony had gone. Checking to make sure no one was watching he opened his Internet explorer and googled 'Bozeman Montana'. He found the chamber of commerce home page and found a link to what he was looking for- The Bozeman Gazette. He clicked on it and started scanning the headlines looking for any mention of the case. He didn't have to look far. The Cadence trial was front page news and there was a full page article on the details of the trial, but that wasn't what caught his attention. Pictured opposite a dark haired man identified as the suspect, Daniel Cadence, was a picture of Lindsay. He stared at the picture for a moment, searching her face, noticing the tear marks and red eyes she tried to shield from the camera. He clenched his teeth at the sight of those brown eyes and returning to the beginning of the article, started to read.

20 minutes later, Danny finished the article and swore under his breath. He hated reporters almost as much as he hated lawyers, they almost always got the story wrong. As he returned to staring at Lindsay's picture again he admitted that they knew more than he did at this point. He'd never pressed Lindsay for any answers about why she was leaving. He'd always figured that she'd tell him when she was able, but as he reflected on the story he acknowledged that she might never be willing to talk about it. Having to testify and relive all of this was probably killing her. She looked miserable, and he hated the thought of her crying.

He picked up his phone and started to dial her cell phone number, but stopped halfway through. It was late, and if the article was right she'd had enough for one day. She'd probably just fallen into bed and wouldn't be up for hours yet. He checked his watch and grabbed his coat and started towards the elevators, lost in thought. He couldn't get the article out of his mind. She was just a kid when everything had happened. Just 14. He crammed his hands in his pockets to hide his frustration and walked out of the precincts front doors heading home. She'd been the only survivor, and 3 of her best friends had been brutally murdered. When he'd been 14 his best friends had consisted of Sam Cappadonna and his older brother Louie. His jaw tightened at the thought of his brother. Lindsay had come to the hospital the night that Louie had been so badly beaten. She'd found a tape recorder among his brothers things and had brought it to him so that he could hear it himself. It had saved him from a wrongful murder charge back then. She'd come down there not knowing if he even wanted to see anyone. She just sat there and held his hand while he listened to the tape. Looking back he'd been so grateful to have someone there with him, but he had been really glad that it had been her. Her friendly smile had been what got him through. She'd even gone to the funeral with him when Louie had died from his injuries.

He walked to his apartment door and opened it still thinking of her tear stained face. The article had said that she left the courtroom alone. He knew she had family there, but apparently she was alone at the courtroom. _That sounded like Montana_, he admitted to himself as he picked up his mail. _Always trying to do things by herself_. Didn't she know that she had people that she could lean on? People that would be there if she asked?

He tossed his unread mail back down on the table in front of him and stared around his apartment debating. Finally he just gave a small shrug and said to himself, "Go with your instincts." and picking up his keys he turned around and headed out of his apartment and out to the street below and hailed a cab driving by.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked him.

Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "JFK, and step on it."

_Fact: There is a Bozeman Gazette listed on the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce, and every other Bozeman refernce in this story comes from information found on the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce website. The only thing thats not is Mr. Prosecuting Attorney, John Goode. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok folks, here it is, one of your favorite scenes and mine. The best is still yet to come, but let me know how you like it so far. I have a lot more to add- 9 chapters in all in this one. I own none of the CSI NY characters, and wish only for the ability to work with people just like them someday. _

**Chapter 4 **

Lindsay sat inside the Courthouse holding her phone in her hand. She'd been on the phone with her parents all morning. After they had seen the morning paper they had argued that they were coming to the courthouse to sit with her. She had been able to convince them not to come, but she hung up with them feeling worse than when they had called.

She'd held the phone and scrolled through her phone numbers until she came to the one name she was most tempted to call; Danny. She stared at the number for a moment before pressing send and cradled the phone to her ear. She closed her eyes as a voice answered but felt her spirits drop as she realized it was just his voicemail.

'_Yo, this is Messer, I'm not in right now, so leave a message and I'll catch you later.'_ -Beep-

Lindsay faltered for a moment. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say to him. "Hey Danny, Its Lindsay." She cleared her throat and tried to sound casual. "I just wanted to give you a call and see how things were going." She looked up as the crowd started to stir, a good sign that Cadence wasn't far behind. "I'm just...I was hoping to catch you before work. Just give me a call sometime, ok?" She started to continue but her voice was shaking. "I'll talk to you later." and she hung up.

She looked up and saw John approaching and stood to greet him.

John had been watching her face as she spoke on the phone. He could tell she hadn't gotten much sleep. "Hey Lindsay. You ready?" he asked her quietly.

She looked at the courtroom doors and tried to steel herself. She nodded, still not sure of her voice, and followed him inside. She sat in the back again, now more out of habit than by design. She just stared ahead as John recalled her back to the stand. She tried hard to clamp down on her emotions as she walked towards the witness chair. It was just so hard. She sat down, barely hearing the bailiff repeat the oath, and sat woodenly in the chair.

John wasted no time in getting started."Ms. Monroe," he began. "Could you please tell the jury what happened after you heard the gunshots."

Lindsay took a deep breath and tried to focus. "It was quiet but I could hear footsteps outside the door. The faucet was still running. I remember being scared that whoever was outside would hear it and coming looking."

Lindsay looked down at the floor as she tried to remember anything that they had talked about in their preparation sessions, but her mind was blank. She started to consider asking John for another break when she heard the courtroom door open as someone stepped inside. She looked up to see who had come in and felt her mouth open in shock. Standing in the back of the courtroom was Danny. She blinked and waited for his image to clear, but when she opened her eyes again he was still standing there. She stared at him for a moment, and then John's voice penetrated the haze.

"Ms. Monroe?"

Danny gave her a small smile and then took a seat in the back of the courtroom right where he could see her. She was looking down at her hands and he couldn't tell whether or not she was happy to see him.

When she looked up she continued her story feeling stronger. She focused on Danny's face, as though she was telling him, just him and found strength in his presence.

She heard John ask if she could identify the man she saw in the restaurant, and Lindsay felt for the first time that she could. She turned in her chair and looked straight at Daniel Cadence forcing him to meet her gaze and identified him as the man who had shot and killed her friends.

The prosecution rested their case and then the defense attorney got to cross examined her. She breezed through the questions, looking at Danny every time the questions got too difficult. Finally the defense attorney completed his questioning and the judge excused her. She saw Danny stand up and wait for her near the courtroom doors. He opened the door for her and followed her through them into the hallway where she turned around and stared at him. He approached her slowly with his hands in his pockets waiting for her to say something.

She gazed at him for a long time before saying, "I thought for a minute that I was seeing things, that you were just an illusion."

"Nope," he gives a little smile and holds his hands up palm out, "no magic tricks here."

"How did you get here?" she asked still stunned to see him.

"Flight out of JFK to Salt Lake really early this morning, then just a quick hop to Bozeman, Montana. They even had cabs at the airport, so I came straight here." He cleared his throat and continued. "I ran into Stella after she spoke with you yesterday." he shrugged his shoulders and switched his weight nervously from foot to foot. "I just thought maybe you could use a friend right now."

Lindsay looked away at his words, and folded her arms across her body and rubbed at them absently.

"I'm not trying to be pushy..." he started. "I know what you said before ..." but before he could finish his thought Lindsay dropped her arms, stepped towards him, and gripped him in a fierce hug.

"Hey..." he trailed off, and his arms came up around her.

"I didn't think I was going to be able to get through that." she said into his jacket, her eyes starting to tear up again. "Then I looked up and saw you standing there and-"

Danny cupped her face, lifted it to look at him, and brushed a stray tear away with his thumb.

"I didn't mean to upset you." he said apologizing.

She gave a small laugh as she stepped back slightly to look up at him better, but she kept her hands on the front of his jacket, unwilling to let go just yet. "I'm so glad you're here." she admitted.

Danny pulled her back into his arms and she went willingly and clung to him as he held her.

The doors to the courtroom opened and people started milling past them. John Goode came out and spotted the man holding Lindsay. He gave a little disappointed sigh. He knew something had happened when she started testifying. She hadn't looked at him once, just kept looking towards the back of the courtroom while she spoke. He had thought for a moment that her folks had shown up, even though he'd discouraged it. Whoever the man was, he must be important to her. In all the years he had known Lindsay she had never clung to anyone like that. _Not even him_, he thought to himself. She usually preferred to do things by herself. He strode forward towards the couple determined to see how things stood for himself.

Lindsay eased out of Danny's embrace and turned to face John as he approached.

Lindsay introduced the two men to one another. "John Goode, District Attorney; Danny Messer, My Partner."

_Her partner_, he thought holding onto some hope. "You did really great in there, Lindsay." he began. "They've broken for deliberations. All we can do now is wait."

"How long do you think they'll be?" she asked him.

"It all depends on the jury. They have a few hours before they'll break for the night. If anything happens we'll find out then. Are you going to stick around? Maybe want to grab some dinner?" he asked her not even looking at Danny.

Lindsay shook her head at John. "No, Danny just flew in from New York. I'm going to wait with him."

Danny silently sized up the lawyer while he and Lindsay spoke. Not quite country, but a lawyer nonetheless, and Danny couldn't stand lawyers. This guy seemed to be really familiar with her and he felt a twinge of jealousy. He put his arm around Lindsay's shoulder to convey an unspoken message to the guy.

John looked Danny square in the eye for a moment, then apparently deciding something turned back to Lindsay and gave a quick nod. "I'll call you when we hear something." he told her and walked away towards the throngs of reporters who were waiting for a quote.

Lindsay let out a deep breath and turned back to Danny, her face troubled.

He could feel the tension in her neck and shoulders. He decided to get her away from here, find someplace quiet where she could relax. "Come on." he said to her his arm still around her shoulders and started her towards the courthouse doors. "Why don't you take me to get a cup of coffee and show me around. It's not everyday I get to see Bozeman, Montana."

Lindsay gave him a small smile and they headed off towards her truck.


	5. Chapter 5

_Something that has always bothered me...What did Danny and Lindsay do during the hours that the Jury must have been deliberating. So here's my take on everything. Best scene still yet to come. I hope you like. All reviews, comments and suggestions are welcome._

A short time later Danny and Lindsay were seated at a booth in a coffee shop down the street from the courthouse. Each had ordered coffee, but the cups sat in front of them untouched.

"So," she started. "Mac knows you're here?"

Danny shook his head. "No. No one does. I didn't exactly have it planned. I got home from working like 40 hours straight on this whacked out case. I've been hallucinating half the time and when I got home I just kind of decided, what the hell. I have the afternoon shift tomorrow."

"I still can't believe you're here." She smiled at the picture he made sitting in a Montana cafe, the mountains visible through the window behind him and he still looked like a New Yorker. "I would never have been able to picture it." she stated, not admitting that his face had been easy to picture, especially recently.

"The trial been really rough on you?" he asked concerned. "You look like you haven't slept in weeks."

"Such flattery Messer." she said wryly.

"Come on," he said, his thick Staten island accent coming through. "you know what I mean."

She crosses her arms again and rubs her forearms nervously. "The trial has been...hard. I ..." she cleared her throat. "I'm not quite ready to talk about it yet. I'm just so nervous you know." she said imploringly. "Talk to me about something else. Tell me how everyone is doing, whats been happening since I left." she begged him.

It was the misery in her face that made him give in. "Work, ah, well its been ok. We've had a busy couple of weeks." He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out to the side. "Which case do you want to hear about; Luke Blade turned murderer, the man who thought he was Noah and came complete with an arc, or trying to track down the shoplifting master who stole over 100,000 in one afternoon from 5th avenue?"

Lindsay cocked her head to the side. "Did you say 'Arc'?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he said with a grin, "with lots of animals two by two including some crazy people who believed the end of the world was going to be a couple of weeks ago. They're probably still sitting in there in Brooklyn."He mused. "You ever processed an arc?" he said shaking his head. "End of the world or not we had to process the whole thing top to bottom."

So they sat there for the next hour and he told her some of the crazier aspects of his most recent cases, how everyone was doing, and what they had been up to recently.

"So I'm sitting there waiting for the finger prints to match from the can, I mean you could see right where this guy had put his fingers on the can, and I'm waiting for the results and I look up and I see you walk by me in the lab. You smiled at me." he said, "That should have been my first clue, you hadn't smiled in months."

She blushed and looked down at the table embarrassed.

"So then I smile back at you, only then I blink and I realize that it isn't you and I'm standing there staring at some lab tech who is probably even now thinking of suing for harassment. I thought I was losing my mind." He took a fortifying sip of his coffee. He wasn't sure why he was telling her this. He had started telling her stories in the hopes of getting some of the old Lindsay back, and the story of him seeing her had just slipped out. _What the hell_, he thought. _You're here_. _Go for broke_. "So I got home and all I could think about was wanting to talk to you. I just decided to go to the airport, see what kind of flight I could get and come see you in person. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Lindsay didn't say anything, just looked down and fiddled with her coffee cup.

"I think I understand a little better now." he said quietly. "What you said a few months back about needing to work out some stuff."

"You didn't before?" she asked looking up at him, her eyes searching his face.

"You wouldn't talk about it, but I started to put some things together. I just hated sitting by and watching you go through whatever you were going through alone, and every time I came near... " he shrugged unable to explain properly, "I just seemed to make it worse."

Lindsay opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by her phone. As she answered Danny took a big gulp of his coffee and willed the caffeine to keep him awake just a little bit longer.

She thanked the person on the other end of the call and hung up. She looked back up at him and said not a little fearfully, "The jury's back with a verdict."


	6. Chapter 6

_I can't describe it nearly as well as you can see it on TV...but I tried anyways. I hope that it makes you SQUEEEEEE just a little bit, and then hopefully want to read more._ _Thats for all the reviews and everything. Over 1700 hits on this story and I still have 3 chapters yet to go._

Back inside the courtroom, the last of the jury had filed into their seats. The judge is handed the verdict and Danny can hear Lindsay breathing deeply beside him. As the judge hands the verdict back to be read, He looked at her just briefly his eyes asking the question silently.

_You alright?_

She reached out and gripped his hand tightly in hers in response

"Madam foreperson, Have you reached a verdict?" the judge asked.

The forewoman stood to read the verdict aloud. "In the matter of People versus Daniel Cadence, we find the defendant guilty of Murder in the First Degree."

Danny lifted her hand in his slightly in triumph as a small relieved smile crossed her lips. She sagged against him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder as intense relief flooded her. It was finally over.

He leaned his head against her forehead ever so briefly as everyone around them cheered and stood up to leave the courtroom. He watched as a myriad of expressions floated across her face; relief, grief, and finally peace. He gave her another minute and then stood up and pulled her to her feet to hug her in celebration.

She returned the hug Danny gave her and gripped his jacket tightly, happy to have someone to lean on in this moment, so glad that it was him.

He pulled back and looked at her for a moment, and then reached for her hand and turned to leave the courtroom.

She had other ideas. Ever since she had seen him walk into the courtroom that morning and realized that he had come there for her, there was something that she had wanted to do. If she was going to be really honest she'd been wanting to do it for a long time.

As he turned to lead them out Lindsay stayed put and held onto him hand forcing him to turn back around. She looked up at him as he looked back around at her in confusion and she smiled brightly.

As he looked down at her, he realized that just seeing her smile at him like this was worth every hour of sleep he had missed.

Lindsay took a step forward and tilted her head up towards his, her eyes glancing back and forth between his eyes and his lips.

He smiled back and bent his head just slightly to meet her lips in a kiss.

**- FLASH- - FLASH- - FLASH-**

_Fireworks?_ Danny thought dimly. _That usually doesn't happen until after._ He looked up confused and found he and Lindsay were the focus of a media frenzy.

He looked back down at her and she gave him a wry smile. _Timing,_ he thought. _We really need to work on that._ Grinning back down at her he took her hand and led her out of the courtroom and away from the crowd.


	7. Chapter 7

_So, we now leave TV land for my little slice of heaven...what happened between the almost kiss and the time before Danny flew back. I'll tell you what I think happened. Read below. There's no way Danny Messer would have gotten that close to kissing her and then just walked away. ;) Not a spoiler, but an explanation of the phrase said by Lindsay in Daze of Wine and Roaches. _

As they walked down the courtroom steps and headed back to her truck Danny was on cloud nine. "Ok Montana, where to." he asked her jovially. "We should celebrate huh. Anywhere you want to go, you name it."

A small devilish smile crosses her face. "Anywhere?" she asks him.

He pursed his lips pretending to consider her words gave a short nod and says "Anywhere that has coffee."

"I know just the place." she tells him.

She drove over to The Moose Creek Grill a small but busy looking restaurant on the edge of town.

Danny read the sign in the window aloud with a grimace as he shut the passenger door. "Best Buffalo Burgers in town."

"The best in Gallatin county." she answers with a pert grin.

"This is because of the bugs isn't it?" he asks her.

"If you recall, I ate and enjoyed the bugs." she retorts.

"Doesn't say much for your taste there, Montana." he teased.

She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him. "You haven't lived until you've had a juicy buffalo burger and a cold beer." she says with a smile.

Danny shook his head at her, threw his hands up in the air in defeat and said, "I'll have anything you want if it puts a smile like that on your face." and he opened the door to the grill and let her step inside.

Once inside they were seated quickly. Lindsay was known by the hostess and she had more than a few people give her a wave from their seats throughout the place. Danny felt eyes on him from around the room as people tried to figure out who he was.

Their waitress comes over and greeted Lindsay like an old friend, and Danny took a moment to observe her while she wasn't looking. She seemed to be right at home. _She is home_, he mused. It had never occurred to him before this, but he wondered if now that the trial was over if she would return to New York, or stay in Montana. She had told him in that card she left for him that she'd be back, but who knew what things had changed. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear the waitress the first time.

"Danny." Lindsay said finally catching his attention.

"Hmm? Oh yeah." and looks down at the menu.

"He'll have a beer also," Lindsay answers for him, "and two of your Buffalo Burgers with everything." she tells the waitress and turns back to smile at Danny.

He smiled at her and leaned back in his chair.

"You alright there Messer?" she asked him.

"Me?" he says giving a little shrug. "I'm great." and continues to smile at her.

His grin is infectious and she can't help but smile back even bigger. "What?" she says again.

He puts his elbows down on the table and leans towards her. "Its just nice to see that smile again. I've really missed it."

She started to blush but was spared a response by the arrival of their drinks brought over by the bartender.

"Lindsay," he says with a grin as he sets down their beers. "When I heard it was you I had to come straight over. We heard the news on the radio just a little bit ago. Guilty indeed."

The man continued to prattle on and Danny sipped at his beer while he waited. His interest in their conversation perked up when he heard the man say,"Now that the trial is over, you're going to move back home right? There's no need to be so far away now that they caught him. I know that your mom and dad would sure love to have you closer to home."

Lindsay glanced over briefly and saw Danny was listening for her answer just as intently. "I've been wanting to live in New York ever since I was a little girl." she said to her friend, but her words were intended for another set of ears. "Now that I've been there for a while its starting to feel like home. I'll be heading back there to stay."

The bartender nods his understanding and then with a few more words of well wishing leaves them alone.

"So when do you think you'll be coming back?" Danny asks her casually as soon as they were alone.

"The sentencing will take place next week and they'll want me to make a statement. After that I'm going to see my folks for a few days. I haven't been very good company lately, I've stayed mostly in town during the trial."

"You ready to come back to work so soon?" he asked her.

"So ready." she admits with a longing sigh. "Having to sit and listen to the evidence from the trial made me homesick for the lab."

"Homesick, huh." pretending to be hurt. "What, you missed your microscope?"

"Don't forget my lab coat and field kit." she answered back. "I'm so ready to look for fingerprints I can't see straight." She took a sip of her beer. "There were other things I missed too."

"Yeah," he said with an interested grin, "Like what?"

"My apartment for one. I missed the noise from the street. Its been so hard to sleep here, its too quiet. I miss going to the opera, eating ray's pizza, walking in central park, even" she said with a grin, "the skyline."

Danny smirked at her. "Wheat fields just don't cut it anymore?" he asked her.

"Have you even seen a wheat field since you've been here?" she asked him amused.

He gave a small laugh. "So, no pizza up here?" he asks her.

"No 'Ray's' pizza. I've been craving it for week's."

"Extra cheese, extra pepperoni." he started.

"Extra everything." she finishes for him.

"When you get back we should go get a slice." he says casually again, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

She smiles and takes a sip of her beer to cover it. "That sounds good." Exactly what she had hoped for.

"So tell me more," she says returning to their earlier conversation. "What is everyone else up to. How are Mac and Stella doing?"

"Stella's ok, she's been a little quiet lately, but other wise ok. Mac though," Danny leaned close towards the table as if speaking in confidence. "That's another story. He started dating Peyton, as in going out to dinner and even holding hands at a crime scene...Mac!"

"Yeah I know." Lindsay says nodding.

"What? Stella already tell you?" he asked perplexed.

"No," Lindsay said with a little smile. "I figured it out."

"Get out of here," he says to her disbelieving. "You knew, Flack knew..." he says with agitation. "Where the heck was I?"

"In a lab, hallucinating." she teased him.

He's saved from having to respond by the arrival of their food. The buffalo burgers were huge, almost the size of the plates they sat on.

"Moment of truth." he says unenthusiastically.

Lindsay just rolled her eyes at him and bit into her burger hungrily.

Danny eyed the burger suspiciously for a moment, then picked it up and took an experimental bite. "Not bad, Montana." he said after swallowing.

"Would I ever steer you wrong Messer?" she says with a cheeky grin.

He smiled back and continued to eat. They sat there for hours polishing off both burgers and Lindsay stealing the majority of his fries. He told her about more of the cases she had missed and he finally got her to open up a little about the trial, and how everything had gotten started.

"I was getting ready to go out and the phone rang. It was a Montana area code so I thought it would be a quick call. It was the Bozeman District Attorney's office. They had stopped this guy in Phoenix on a DUI charge, and when they printed him it came back to an open file in Montana. He'd left a perfect palm print on the glass of the front door of the restaurant but we'd never gotten a match. I know, I used to do random checks in every database I could get ahold of when I worked for the county. It was so frustrating knowing what he looked like but not having a face to put with a name. She took a small sip of the coffee she was now drinking and continued. When they told me they had him I was too stunned to speak. They wanted me to go to the lab to make an ID through email. I've had to do so many of these through the years and they were always dead ends, so I didn't think anything of it. I logged on and when I saw the mug shot I just kind of froze. Suddenly I was 14 years old again and hiding in a bathroom stall afraid he would find me. The prosecutor started working right away. It was the biggest unsolved case up here in years, and they wanted to go to trial right away. When I realized that they needed me to testify I just kind of went numb. I don't even remember the rest of the conversation much I just kept seeing those faces and all that blood."

When she faltered a little Danny prompted her. "When was all this?"

Lindsay didn't answer right away, just fingered the handle of her coffee cup for a long moment before saying. "I got the call when I was getting ready to meet you for our date."

Danny leaned back in his chair as he saw past events in a different light. "You said something had come up. Then you were all funny in the lab and at the crime scene. Why didn't you just say something?" he asked her.

"How would I have begun? she said. "I just got a call about a 17 year old cold case where I was the sole survivor and now I have to testify."

"Yeah," Danny nodded "that would have been a good start."

"Danny you have to understand. I've been rehashing this story to people for years. The sheriff who first responded to my 911 call, the detectives over and over, even the FBI once. Friends and Family, hell most people in Bozeman have heard it told at one point or another. Even some of my old coworkers investigated the case. I hated talking about it."

"Must have been hard for you to work in forensics." he said slightly changing tactics.

"Sometimes," she admitted, "but most of the time it helped to get answers for other people."

Danny covered his mouth with his hand as let out a not so small yawn. He shook his head slightly to clear his head, and prompted her to go on.

"Danny, I'm sorry." Lindsay said as she looked at her watch and saw the time. "you must be exhausted."

"No, no." he lied. "I slept a few hours on the plane and I'm starting to get my like... 9th wind here."

Lindsay looked around the restaurant. They were the only people left and it was late. "Come on," she said to him as she stood up and put on her jacket. "There's something I want to show to you before we head back into town."


	8. Chapter 8

As she drove down the highway back towards town, Lindsay snuck a peek at Danny sitting in the passenger seat. She could see that his eyes were closed, but she could tell that he wasn't asleep yet, even though he must be exhausted. It was almost 4 in the morning East Coast time, and she knew that flight he'd made earlier was no picnic. But there was something she needed to do before he left and before she lost her nerve again, and she eased over to the side of the road.

Danny's eyes opened as he looked for their destination.

"Come on." she urged him, and opened the car door to step outside.

Danny followed, his eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. There were no other cars on the road this time of night, and there were no street lights either. "Montana?" he called out.

"Right beside you." she said and he felt her arm brush against him.

His eyes started to adjust and he could dimly see the features of her face. Her lips were so close, and he was having trouble focusing on what they were supposed to be doing out here. "So what did you want to show me?" he asked her his voice a little thick.

In response she turned her face up towards the night sky, and he followed suit.

"Whoa." he said. He'd never seen so many stars. They were all clustered together and you couldn't tell one from another.

"They don't have a night sky like that in New York, do they." she asked him.

"Well they might," Danny quipped. "We just never bother turning off the lights to find out." He turned to smile at her and found her watching him instead of the night sky.

She cleared her throat and began to speak softly. "You and I, we have this thing...this chemistry and I can't quite stop thinking about it," she admitted. "I don't know if you're still interested-"

Before she could finish her thought, Danny did it for her. He reached up and cupped her face with his hands, and kissed her fiercely. When he drew back his eyes had adjusted enough for him to see her face more clearly and he watched the lids of her eyes flutter open as she regarded him with big brown eyes.

"Yeah Montana," he assured her, "I'm still interested."

Lindsay's face lit up with a big smile that made her eyes sparkle brighter than the stars he'd been looking at.

Never one for knowing when to stop Danny continued. He threw his arms and hands out wide beside himself, "Hell, I'm so interested I flew all the way to Bozeman, Montana-" but this time she silences him, and pulls his face back down to kiss her again, and they stand there by the side of the road embracing under the night sky.


	9. Chapter 9

Danny stood at the Salt lake City airportscanning the departureboard again. He was in so much trouble. His flight back to JFK was delayed and there was no way he was going to make it to work on time. He rubbed his forehead with his finger tips and made the dreaded decision,he was going to have to call Mac. He picked up his cell phone and dialed the number with dread.

After the second ring a voice answered. "Detective Taylor."

"Mac, its Danny." He hesitated. "Something,ah came up, and I'm going to be lateto work today."

Mac sat back in his chair at his desk. "Family trouble?" Mac asked him.

"No." Danny said.

"Are you sick?" Mac continued and he looked up to see Peyton walk into his office and motion to her watch. He signaled back 2 minutes and she sat on the couch.

"No," Danny says as he pinched the bridge of his nose and waited for the explosion. "I'm just going to be late."

Mac looked onceagain at his computer screen, considered fora moment and then said "Ok".

"Ok?" Danny echoed in disbelief.

"Yeah, we'll see youthis afternoon when you get in."

Danny lifted his head up and cocked it to the side, surprised. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Mac confirmed. "Now I've got to go. We'll see you when you get in." Heput the phonedown and leaned back in his chair, looking atPeyton.

"That was awfully considerate of you."she said with a grinas she roseto her feet, walked around his desk, andleaned against it in front of him.

Mac gave a small considerate shrug. "You must be rubbing off on me."

Peyton grinned and then turned to look at the screen Mac had been staring at. The Bozeman Gazette homepage was up, and the Daniel Cadence trial was front page news. Along side the picture of Cadence being taken out in chains, there was another picture that caught Peyton's eye.

"That's Lindsay," she said suddenly interested.

Mac nodded with a little smile.

"Who's that with... " She stopped mid sentence and turned to look at Mac her mouth open in shock.

Mac just smiled at her with a knowing grin and lifted his eyebrows speculatively."How about you take me to lunch now." he just said to her, as he rose from hischair and put on his jacket.

Peyton just looked once more at the photo and grinned up at him."How long have you known?" she asked nodding towards the photo of Danny and Lindsay on the front page.

Mac put his arm around her waist and started walking out of his office."Ifigured it out." he said simply, and they walked arm in arm towards the elevators.

_He never lets on- not really, but I always figured that Mac knew/ found out that Danny went to Montana. I liked the idea of him finding out this way. I hope you enjoyed this one. More stories along this same path planned soon. Until then, thanks for the great number of reads and the wonderful reviews. They are always appreciated._


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